Helmut Marko has branded Lando Norris as ‘pathetic’ and pinned blame on him following his crash with Max Verstappen at the Austrian GP on Sunday.

The Red Bull director also revealed an unusual change to Norris and Verstappen’s behaviour towards each other afterwards which suggests their relationship has soured.

Verstappen and Norris inflamed the row of the weekend when they collided at Turn 3 on lap 64. The two had been leading the race comfortably but their tyres were ruined by the clash, with the former finishing fifth and the latter forced to retire.

Verstappen was handed a 10-second time penalty by the stewards, who held him primarily at fault, while Norris was given a five-second sanction for exceeding track limits – not that it mattered, given his retirement.

Norris blamed Verstappen for moving under braking consistently during the race and for driving him off track, while the Dutchman claimed he had been ‘divebombed’ by the Englishman.

Lando Norris is OUT of the race after that contact with Max 🤯❌ pic.twitter.com/WVJR480bnz

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 30, 2024

Helmut Marko has slammed Lando Norris as ‘pathetic’ following his crash with Max Verstappen

The two came together at lap 64 of the Austrian GP, with stewards deciding Verstappen was more at fault

Marko sided with his man. ‘Norris’s behavior on the radio was pathetic, he told Austrian outlet OE24.

‘But things like that happen and I would write it off as a racing accident, although Norris was more likely to have overstepped the mark.

‘Norris’ comments that Max should apologize are not very helpful. But they will meet to talk things out.

‘They usually fly together, but this time they were travelling separately. So Max had a quiet return flight.’

Their feud is so surprising considering that the two are such close friends.

Verstappen and Norris have been friends since their karting days in 2013 and are best chums on the grid, often travelling and dining together.

Last year, Verstappen called Norris his ‘best friend on the grid’ while the latter has vowed to learn Dutch.

However, Norris suggested their relationship could be compromised if Verstappen fails to apologise.

Norris was furious and demanded an apology from his friend, saying he would ‘lose respect’ for him otherwise

Verstappen refused to back down and argued that ‘he knew best’ about his driving

Norris had to retire with severe damage while Verstappen, who had been leading, came fifth

George Russell picked up the second race win of his career, capitalising on the collision

‘It depends on what he says. If he says he did nothing wrong, then I’ll lose a lot of respect for him,’ he said.

‘If he admits to being a bit stupid and running into me and just being a bit reckless, then I’ll have a small amount of respect for that.

‘I expect a tough battle against Max. I expect aggression and pushing the limits and that kind of thing, but all three times we got close doing stuff which can easily cause an incident.

‘In a way, it’s a bit reckless, a little bit desperate from his side. It doesn’t need to be. I respect what he does but sometimes he goes too far.’

His friend, a three-time F1 World Champion, said: ‘Always move my wheel before I brake and then of course you brake in a straight line trajectory. It’s always easy to say I was moving under braking but I think the guy in the car knows best.

‘I felt sometimes like his divebombs and he’s so late on the brakes… I think it’s also just the shape of the corner which provides these kinds of issues sometimes.’